ATHENS, Greece, June 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TOP Ships Inc. (Nasdaq:TOPS) ("Top Ships" or the "Company"), an international owner and operator of modern, fuel efficient "ECO" MR tanker vessels focusing on the transportation of petroleum products, announced today the following corporate developments:
Delivery of EShips Taweelah
The Company took delivery of the EShips Taweelah, a 50,000 dwt fuel efficient "ECO" MR product tanker, the first of six vessels under construction in the Company's fleet. The remaining five vessels are scheduled for delivery between the first quarter 2015 and the third quarter of 2016.
The EShips Taweelah is on a time charter for two years, plus one additional year at the charterer's option, to EShips Tankers Ltd, at $16,000 per day for the first two years and $17,250 per day for the optional year.
Engagement of RedChip to Lead Investor Relations Efforts
Concurrent with the successful completion of the Company's recent public offering, which raised gross proceeds of more than $20 million, Top Ships engaged RedChip Companies, Inc. ("RedChip") to lead its investor relations efforts.
"We look forward to working closely with RedChip in the months and quarters ahead as we seek to improve our visibility in the investment community," stated Pistiolis.
Dave Gentry, President and CEO of RedChip, stated, "The global seaborne transportation industry moves more than 1.8 billion metric tons of petroleum products annually. We're excited to bring the Top Ships story to our global investor audience of retail and institutional investors as they capitalize on this massive market opportunity."
About TOP Ships Inc.
TOP Ships Inc. is an international owner and operator of modern, fuel efficient "ECO" MR tanker vessels focusing on the transportation of petroleum products.
Top Ships Inc. currently owns one MR tanker, employed on a time charter, and has five newbuilding MRs, which are expected to be delivered to the Company between the first quarter of 2015 and the third quarter of 2016.
For more information about TOP Ships Inc., visit its website: www.topships.org.
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect" "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, failure of a seller to deliver one or more vessels or of a buyer to accept delivery of one or more vessels, inability to procure acquisition financing, default by one or more charterers of our ships, changes in the demand for crude oil and petroleum products, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.